SYSTRA Acquires Scott Lister

SYSTRA announces the acquisition of Scott Lister, an Australian head-quartered company specialising in systems engineering and risk management, largely for the railway sector.

This acquisition gives SYSTRA the wherewithal to build up its activity in Australia, a high-potential market for transport infrastructure. This acquisition also gives SYSTRA the opportunity to reinforce its skills in systems safety and integration.

Scott Lister was founded in 2009 by associates Mark Scott and Howard Lister and has a staff of 60. The company’s chief activity consists of engineering assurance, safety and reliability assessment, comprehensive (design, integration, construction, testing & commissioning) engineering services, as well as project management and management systems development. With Australian offices in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, the company also has offices in Singapore and London.

According to Pierre Verzat, Chief Executive Officer of SYSTRA: “This new acquisition is part of SYSTRA’s growth plan. Since 2014, our strategy of selected acquisitions has been aiming to develop our activity on key international markets. In two years, the group’s skillset has been enriched by the arrival of almost 1,000 staff worldwide. Following on from India, Brazil and Northern Europe, we are delighted to welcome the engineers of Scott Lister to the SYSTRA group, to reinforce us in Australia and to approach the New Zealand market. Thanks to their technical skills as well as their in-depth knowledge of the environment, institutions and regulations, we will be able to consolidate our portfolio of projects in Australia.”

Jean-Charles Vollery, Senior Vice-President for Asia Pacific adds: “Australia is key to SYSTRA’s development in the region. Over the coming years, the country plans to develop its railway network by building more than 2,500 km of new conventional and freight lines. The main conurbations also plan to develop their urban transport networks. It was essential for us to be associated with a local player, to win contracts and build a durable foothold there. Scott Lister was an obvious choice, following our successful partnership on a technical consultancy assignment to modernize signalling for trains in Sydney.”

Mark Scott, the CEO of Scott Lister, becomes Managing Director of SYSTRA Scott Lister: “Myself and the team are delighted that Scott Lister is joining the SYSTRA Group. We have worked under joint venture for some time and the experience has been extremely positive for both organisations and our clients. Together we will be stronger due to our complementary skills and networks. SYSTRA’s expertise in the fields of urban and railway transport will enable us to develop and service new markets and our clients in Australia and overseas will reap the benefits of the expertise and experience that we bring. Furthermore, SYSTRA opens a new chapter for our staff, who will integrate with an international group that they now know well and whose values and skills they appreciate. And above all, a group that will open up unique professional opportunities for them.”

About the SYSTRA Group

• SYSTRA is the world leader for public transport infrastructure. This subsidiary of RATP and SNCF has worked in the mass transit and rail market since 1957. The Group’s ambition is to serve the new needs for collective, sustainable mobility, all over the world.
• SYSTRA is currently working on more than 3,500 projects involving high speed and conventional railways, metros and trams in 80 different countries.
• The Group has helped build half of the world’s metro systems and is working on lines 15, 16 and 17 of the Grand Paris Express. In Asia, SYSTRA is working on line 6 of the Delhi metro and line 16 of the Shanghai metro. SYSTRA is in charge of building two new automated metro lines in Santiago de Chile, and of certifying the migration of 13 km of commuter railway between Epping and Chatswood in Australia, to driverless operation.
• SYSTRA has contributed to every high speed railway line in France and is currently working on four projects: the South Europe Atlantic line from Tours to Bordeaux, phase 2 of the East European HSR, the Nîmes-Montpellier bypass and the Brittany-Loire Valley line. SYSTRA is also involved in the high speed railway project between Tangiers and Kenitra, in Morocco. Elsewhere, SYSTRA is a stakeholder on projects in India, Malaysia and Thailand. SYSTRA’s worldwide experience of high speed railways is underpinned by flagship projects that have promoted sustainable high speed mobility in Asia: South Korea, Taiwan and China. In Canada, the Group’s subsidiary, Canarail, has won the contract to renovate rolling stock for the prestigious Rocky Mountaineer tourist railway.

About SYSTRA in Australia

In 2014, SYSTRA opened a branch office based in Sydney, staffed by 15 experts, to conduct two major projects: -

• The independent certification of the design, construction and implementation of the North-West Railway Line project on behalf of the Sydney transport authority (Transport for New South Wales), working jointly with GHD, an Australian engineering firm. Commercial service is planned before the end of 2019. This is Australia’s largest mass transit project and is one of SYSTRA’s first major projects in Australia.
• Conducted jointly with Scott Lister, technical adviser for the development of the Concept design for a signalling modernization (Level 2 European Train Control System) project for the Sydney metropolitan region.